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How the ‘Crack Baby’ Myth Criminalized Black Women and Destroyed Families
The narrative created robust fears and sensational headlines
“Crack: Cocaine, Corruption & Conspiracy, director Stanley Nelson’s latest documentary, is both a reminder and an eye-opening account of the horrors of crack and the country’s push to criminalize Black people struggling with drug addiction... Drawing from anecdotes from the Black and Brown people impacted by the “war on drugs” and archival footage from the 1980s and ’90s, the doc illustrates the ties between Reagan’s White House to Nicaragua and how a party drug for the elite was weaponized by police and the medical field to separate Black mothers from their newborns. The latter gave way to the myth of “crack babies,” a narrative that created robust fears and sensational headlines. A myth that criminalized Black women who needed help, instead of treating addiction as a health issue. A myth that destroyed families by incarcerating Black moms.” — ZORA Editors
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